Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2016

The King's Wine

Lafite is one of the oldest names in Bordeaux. The estate in Pauillac was the property of Gombaud de Lafite in 1234. In the 17th century the Segur family bought it, including a 16th-century manor house that still stands, and around 1680 Jacques de Segur planted most of the vineyard. In the early 18th century Nicolas-Alexandre, marquis de Segur, became known as the 'Wine Prince,' and Lafite was called 'The King's Wine' thanks to the support of the Marechal de Richelieu.

The Revolution ended the Segur era: Nicolas Pierre de Pichard was executed on June 30, 1794, the estate became public property, and in 1797 it was sold to Dutch merchants. One critic notes that the 1797 deed described Lafite as a Premier Cru of the Medoc, one of the earliest uses of the term, and that the estate's oldest bottle is a 1797.

In 1855 Lafite was one of four Bordeaux estates ranked First Growth. On August 8, 1868, Baron James de Rothschild bought it at a public auction in Paris for 4.4 million francs, and the estate became Chateau Lafite Rothschild. He died three months later, and the property passed to his three sons, Alphonse, Gustave and Edmond. The family has owned it ever since.

New hands in 2016

Baron Eric de Rothschild directed Lafite from 1974. His daughter, Saskia de Rothschild, a former investigative journalist who had worked at Chateau L'Evangile in Pomerol at 19, joined Lafite full time in 2015, and in April 2018 she became the first woman to chair Domaines Barons de Rothschild. One encyclopedia entry calls her the youngest woman leading a Premier Grand Cru estate.

In the cellar, the 2016 was a debut. Charles Chevallier, who had managed winemaking and the vineyards since 1994, was replaced by Eric Kohler in January 2016, so the 2016 was the first full vintage under Kohler as technical director. Jeb Dunnuck ended his 100-point note on the wine: 'Hats off to director Eric Kohler.'

Kohler was candid about how uncertain the year felt. Speaking to a Bordeaux wine writer during the barrel tastings, he said the team at first thought they were forced to harvest and that the wines would be harsh because the berries were so hard, and expected something like the 1986, which took a long time to open up. 'We still don't understand what happened,' he said. 'We probably overestimated the hydric stress and the vines produced a remarkable quality.'

From flood to drought

The 2016 Bordeaux season began with one of the wettest, coolest springs in memory. Jeff Leve reports record rain through most of June, 600 to 700 millimeters, and says growers thought by mid-June that the vintage looked like a disaster in the making. Flowering was late but went well.

Then the weather flipped. From late June Bordeaux had one of the driest second halves on record, with warmth, sun and cool nights, and young vines began to suffer. A merchant's summary of the vintage at Lafite reports two months of significant water stress until the end of veraison, broken when rain finally fell on September 13. Leve records about 40 millimeters on September 13 and 14, and more rain on September 30 and October 1, just what the Cabernet Sauvignon needed. In the Medoc the red grapes were picked from October, with some estates not harvesting Cabernet in earnest until October 10.

Lafite's 2016 is 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot. Lisa Perrotti-Brown of the Wine Advocate reported that 15% press wine went into the blend. It was raised in 100% new oak. One critic writes that Lafite ages its grand vin 18 to 20 months in new French oak, much of it from a cooperage on the property that can make up to 2,000 barrels a year; a merchant's technical summary for 2016 gives 15 months. The figures differ, and both are left as reported.

Perhaps the greatest since 1959

James Suckling scored it 100 in April 2017: 'Even stronger and more toned than the excellent 2015, this Lafite shows incredible power yet also finesse... Goes on for minutes. Stunning. Perhaps the greatest Lafite since the legendary 1959?' Jeb Dunnuck, also at 100, called it 'one of the greatest young Bordeaux I've ever tasted' and said that 'along with Mouton, it's the wine of the vintage from the Medoc,' keeping for '50-75 years or more.'

Decanter gave it 100. Jeff Leve scored it 100 again in March 2026, with a drinking window of 2030 to 2075. Lisa Perrotti-Brown gave 99 in November 2018, describing it as 'built like a brick house.' Vinous and Wine Enthusiast are listed at 99, and James Molesworth of Wine Spectator gave 98, calling it 'a real stunner' and reporting 16,000 cases made.

The dissent came from London. Jancis Robinson scored it 18 out of 20 and found it 'a really rather delicate Lafite. Nothing in excess; it's true and very classic claret - very Lafite - but arguably just a little muted.'

Release and the market

Lafite opened its 2016 campaign in May 2017 with a first tranche at 455 euros a bottle ex-negociant, an 8.3% rise on the 2015's 420 euros. The release was small: a trade report said it was about half the size of the previous year's first tranche, and a US magazine wrote that only about half the crop was offered. Thanks to a strong dollar, that worked out to about $585 a bottle, or $7,020 a case, at leading US retailers. When the second tranche followed days later, the US retail average rose to about $606 a bottle, or $7,272 a case. Haut-Brion, Mouton and Margaux all released at 420 euros.

In 2026 the wine sits near its release level in dollar terms. A 750 ml bottle sold at an online auction in the United States for $625 on August 23, 2026. A national retailer listed it at $949.99 as a pre-sale in October 2026, and a merchant offered a three-bottle pack at $1,550 a bottle. A fine-wine trading desk showed a market value of $7,310 for a 12-bottle case.

Identifying a genuine bottle

Lafite has long been one of the most counterfeited wines in the world. In November 2012 police in Wenzhou, China, seized nearly 10,000 bottles of suspected fake Lafite, and analysts have estimated that 50 to 70 percent of wine labeled Lafite in China was fake. Starting with the 2012 vintage, the estate places a seal of authenticity with a unique numbered code on the capsules of both Lafite and Carruades de Lafite, which can be checked on the estate's website. A 2016 should carry that seal.

Do not confuse the grand vin with Carruades de Lafite, the second wine, named for a section of vineyard on the plateau near Mouton Rothschild, which was released for 2016 at 135 euros a bottle. The estate's vineyard is given as 112 hectares by one critic and a merchant, and as 107 hectares by an encyclopedia entry; it includes a 4.5-hectare parcel, La Caillava, in the neighboring Saint-Estephe appellation. Average production of the grand vin runs 15,000 to 20,000 cases a year by one account.

The numbers

Vineyard

112 ha (one critic and a merchant) or 107 ha (an encyclopedia), including 4.5 ha in Saint-Estephe

2016 production

16,000 cases (Wine Spectator); typical grand vin output 15,000 to 20,000 cases

2016 blend

92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot; 15% press wine

James Suckling

100

Decanter

100

Jeb Dunnuck

100

Jeff Leve

100

Wine Advocate (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

99

Vinous (Antonio Galloni)

99

Wine Spectator (James Molesworth)

98

Jancis Robinson

18/20

Timeline

1. 1234

   The estate is the property of Gombaud de Lafite.

2. 1680

   Around this year Jacques de Segur plants most of the vineyard.

3. Jun 30, 1794

   Nicolas Pierre de Pichard is executed, ending the Segur family's ownership.

4. 1797

   Lafite is sold to Dutch merchants; the deed calls it a Premier Cru of the Medoc.

5. 1855

   Lafite is ranked one of four First Growths.

6. Aug 8, 1868

   Baron James de Rothschild buys Lafite at auction in Paris for 4.4 million francs; he dies three months later.

7. 1974

   Baron Eric de Rothschild takes charge of the estate.

8. 2012

   Lafite begins sealing capsules with a numbered authenticity code; police in Wenzhou seize nearly 10,000 suspected fake bottles in November.

9. Jan 2016

   Eric Kohler replaces Charles Chevallier as technical director.

10. Jun 2016

    Record spring rain gives way to a hot, dry summer.

11. Sep 13, 2016

    Rain finally breaks two months of water stress in the vineyard.

12. Oct 2016

    Cabernet Sauvignon is picked in the Medoc through October.

13. Apr 4, 2017

    James Suckling scores the 2016 100 points.

14. May 2017

    First tranche released at 455 euros a bottle ex-negociant, about $585 at US retail; second tranche follows within days.

15. Apr 2018

    Saskia de Rothschild becomes chair of Domaines Barons de Rothschild.

16. Nov 30, 2018

    Lisa Perrotti-Brown of the Wine Advocate scores it 99.

17. Mar 22, 2026

    Jeff Leve scores it 100 with a drinking window of 2030 to 2075.

18. Aug 23, 2026

    A 750 ml bottle sells at an online auction in the United States for $625.

The world in 2016

• Jan 28, 2016

  The World Health Organization announces an outbreak of the Zika virus.

• Apr 3, 2016

  The Panama Papers, 11.5 million leaked offshore-finance documents, are published.

• Jun 23, 2016

  The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the European Union.

• Jul 14, 2016

  A truck attack in Nice, France, kills 86 people on Bastille Day.

• Aug 5, 2016

  The Summer Olympics open in Rio de Janeiro, the first held in South America.

• Nov 2, 2016

  The Chicago Cubs win the World Series for the first time since 1908.

• Nov 2016

  Donald Trump is elected the 45th President of the United States.

• Dec 4, 2016

  Italy's constitutional referendum fails, and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi resigns.

Price record

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2016 is number 61 of 100 in the wine entries of the FLOAT 100. 12 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (36 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Lafite's technical team said the 2016 tasting room saw empty glasses and empty spittoons, because tasters wanted to drink the samples instead of spitting.
• The 2016 was Eric Kohler's first vintage as Lafite's technical director.
• A bottle of 1869 Lafite set an auction record in Hong Kong in October 2010, when three bottles sold for about $232,692 each.
• Lafite's Carruades plateau includes a block of vines that sits inside the vineyard of Mouton Rothschild.
• The estate's cellar holds 2,200 barrels, about 55,000 cases of wine, and took two years to build, finishing in 1988.
• Lafite has planted vines in China's Shandong province, and its Domaine de Long Dai winery released its first vintage in 2019.